- Dr. Anne-Marie in the News
- Tsepong Journals August 09 Part 1
- Tsepong Journals August 09 Part 2
- Tšepong Journals Oct/Nov 08
- Tšepong Journals May 07
- Tšepong Journals July 06 Part 1
- Tšepong Journals July 06 Part 2
- Day Thirteen and Fourteen (July 15, 2006)
- Day Fifteen (July 17, 2006)
- Day Sixteen (July 18, 2006)
- Day Seventeen (July 19, 2006)
- Day Eighteen (July 20, 2006)
- Day Nineteen (July 21, 2006)
- Day Twenty and Twenty-One (July 22, 2006)
- Day Twenty-Two (July 24, 2006)
- Day Twenty-Three (July 25, 2006)
- Day Twenty-Four (July 26, 2006)
- Last Entry (July 27, 2006)
Day Nineteen (July 21, 2006)
Lineo is getting fat and Tumis, the 1 year old of the Tsopong receptionist who I was sure would die this week, is going home tomorrow. That’s the thing; you just can’t predict who will survive. Once a person is given that second chance with ARV’s when they are so ill, whether they survive or not is just as much about love and prayer and their will as it is about medicine.
Lineo will be taken to Masero on Monday. I was asked by the head of social welfare to send him all the pictures I have taken of her. He handed me a memory stick to be sure I would get the job done. He wants the pictures to go with her care takers and he was steadfast in his assurance to me that I would not lose touch with her. The entire Tsepong staff has been in and out of her room all week. This child may have lost one mother, now she has about 17. There is so much love and compassion in this world; we just seem to need the opportunity to express it. More of both needs to gently envelope this great planet.
As I walked back to Tsepong from my morning visit to the pediatric ward, I felt I was walking on air. I took slight notice of a very skinny girl that was about twelve. Five minutes later I looked up from my desk in the exam room and there she was, Bukana in hand, waiting in the hall. God Almighty, this disease spares no one.
I did something I have never done today. At the end of a consultation with a patient, I stood up and applauded. I was tearful and proud during the whole interview. Proud of Tsepong, proud of OHAfrica, proud of Canada. Seretse is 26. She is widowed and has a five year old son who is HIV negative. She was started on ARV’s when the clinic opened. Her CD4 is 760! The normal range is 500-1200. I rarely see anyone at Masai with a CD4 that high. Her initial CD4 was 50. I shook her hand and said, “You will see grandchildren. Thank you for being tested and bravely taking treatment.”
Patient after patient today came in with high CD4’s, all were gravely ill 2 years ago. Their smiles beamed. They were triumphant and joyful. That precious second chance has so much meaning here. I saw one miracle after another.
Thank you Tsepong. Thank you OHAfrica. Thank you Canada. We have truly made a difference in this little town of Leribe, Lesotho - there is so much left to be done.
Fifty six percent of the people who live in Lesotho, do so on less than $2/day. On the recent census in Canada, there was no one in this category. Last year, 23,000 people died of AIDS in Lesotho. This represents 10% of the people infected with HIV in this country. The population growth rate in Lesotho last year was .1%. The death rate was 1.3%. The death rate exceeds the birthrate by more than 10%.
That second chance needs to come soon and to so many more.